AMES, Iowa South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg returned to the presidential campaign trail in Iowa Wednesday night after baring his teeth in a primary debate that will be remembered for his persistent attacks on his more liberal rivals.

Buttigieg owes much of the goodwill he has generated here to the perception that he has brought civility to the race. So his aggressive turn risks alienating supporters like Lynn Klein from Cedar Falls, who told me last month that she supports Buttigieg because he is bringing back kindness and compassion to our country and being human again. But in Ames, where over 900 people crammed into a town hall at Iowa State University Wednesday evening, many of Buttigiegs fans welcomed the tougher approach.

It was a good opportunity for him to show people that he can be in charge and go up against Trump and not just be a very glib person with a lot of good ideas, said Mike McKean, who had traveled 30 miles to Ames from the Des Moines suburbs.

I like to see that strength from him because hes always seemed just a little quiet and hes so intelligent and I want him to speak up, agreed Margy Howarth from Ames.

Buttigieg provided the debate in Ohio with some of its most memorable moments. He clashed repeatedly with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) over her refusal to frame her Medicare for All plan as a tax on the middle classes; and reserved his sharpest response of the night for former Rep. Beto ORourke (Texas) during an emotional debate on gun control, saying, I dont need lessons from you on courage, political or personal.

Buttigiegs campaign clearly sees his debate performance as a win. Who saw the debate last night? Jessica Reynolds, an Iowa prosecutor who endorsed Buttigieg at the Ames event and introduced him, asked the crowd. Didnt he knock it out of the park?!

Admitting to being a little sleep-deprived, Buttigieg delivered his familiar stump speech with the confidence of a candidate who is very much in the hunt for a strong finish in the crucial first-in-the-nation state and with a war chest to fund that goal.